Daily Brew: October 26, 2018

October 26, 2018

Ballots look different in every state + SCOTUS to decide if they will hear case challenging the scope of Chevron deference + AL & CT state spotlights   Welcome to the Friday, October 26 Brew. Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day: Alabama state spotlight Connecticut state spotlight Ballots look different in every state. What does yours look like? SCOTUS to decide if they will hear case challenging the scope of Chevron deference Alabama: Share the Wonder Alabama is holding elections for seven U.S. House seats, governor and eight other state executive offices, all 35 state Senate seats, and all 105 state House seats. Five state Supreme Court justices, three state appellate court judges, and three state court of criminal appeals judges must stand for election in 2018. Four statewide measures are on the ballot. Ballotpedia is also covering local elections in Jefferson County and school board elections in Jefferson and Mobile counties. What is the partisan balance in the state? Congress: Republicans hold one U.S. Senate seat and six U.S. House seats. Democrats hold one U.S. Senate seat and one U.S. House seat. Governor: Republican. Lt. Governor: Vacant. Attorney General: Republican. State Senate: 26-8 Republican majority with one independent member. State House: 72-31 Republican majority with one vacancy. Race to watch Alabama Supreme Court: A Democrat hasn't served on the nine-member Alabama Supreme Court since 2011, when chief justice Sue Bell Cobb—the lone Democrat on the court at the time—resigned. In 2018, Republican Tom Parker defeated incumbent chief justice Lyn Stuart (R) in the primary. Stuart was named chief justice after Roy Moore was suspended following his direction to lower court judges to decline issuing same-sex marriage licenses despite the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges. Parker, described as "a long-time ally of Roy Moore" by the Associated Press, faces Bob Vance (D) in the November 6 general election for the court's top spot. Vance ran against Moore in 2012 and lost by 3.6 percentage points. Four other seats on the court are up for election; three of the four elections are uncontested. What you need to know if you’re an Alabama voter Early voting dates: Alabama does not permit early voting. Polls open/close: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voter ID: All voters in Alabama must present photo identification at the polls. A voter can obtain a free photo ID from the Alabama Secretary of State, a county registrar's office, or a mobile location that changes daily (the schedule can be accessed here). Bookmark your sample ballot. Learn more         Connecticut: Still Revolutionary Connecticut is holding elections for one U.S. Senate seat, five U.S. House seats, governor and five other state executive offices, all 36 state Senate seats, and all 151 state House seats. Two statewide measures are on the ballot. What is the partisan balance in the state? Congress: Democrats hold both U.S. Senate seats and all five U.S. House seats. Governor: Democrat. Lt. Governor: Democrat. Attorney General: Democrat. State Senate: 18-18 split between Democrats and Republicans. State House: 80-71 Democratic majority. Races to watch Governor of Connecticut: Businessman Ned Lamont (D), businessman Bob Stefanowski (R), Mark Stewart Greenstein (Amigo Constitution Party), and Oz Griebel (I) are running for the state’s open gubernatorial seat. The last time a Connecticut gubernatorial election was won by a candidate of the same political party as the outgoing governor was in 1924 when Hiram Bingham (R) was elected to succeed Charles Templeton (R). In the 2016 presidential election, Hillary Clinton (D) carried the state by a margin of 14 percentage points. Connecticut Attorney General: State Rep. William Tong (D), prosecutor Susan Hatfield (R), and attorney Peter Goselin (G) are running for the open attorney general seat. Although the state has not had a Republican attorney general since 1959, this race could be competitive according to Governing, which rated it Lean Democratic, due to Gov. Dannel Malloy's (D) low approval ratings. Connecticut State Senate: All 36 seats in the state senate are up for election. Heading into the election, Democrats and Republicans each hold 18 seats, with Democrats controlling the lieutenant governorship and its tie-breaking vote. Ballotpedia has identified six districts—four Republican-held and two Democratic-held—as battlegrounds. Connecticut House of Representatives: All 151 seats in the state house are up for election. Heading into the election, Democrats control 80 seats to Republicans’ 71. Ballotpedia has identified 28 districts—15 Democratic-held and 13 Republican-held—as battlegrounds. What you need to know if you’re a Connecticut voter Early voting dates: Connecticut does not permit early voting. Polls open/close: 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voter ID: Voters in Connecticut must present some form of identification at the polls, but a photo is not required. Bookmark your sample ballot. Learn more→ Ballots look different in every state. What does yours look like? Each state produces its own ballots in accordance with its own rules and regulations. As a result, the appearance of ballots can vary widely from state to state and even between jurisdictions within the same state. To facilitate comparisons, Ballotpedia has put together an article that displays an official sample ballot image from each state.     How does your state's ballot stack up next to those in other states? Check out our article to find out!​​​​​​​ SCOTUS to decide if they will hear case challenging the scope of Chevron deference The U.S. Supreme Court will consider today whether to hear a case challenging the scope of Chevron deference—a principle of judicial deference that compels a federal court to yield to a federal agency’s interpretation of an ambiguous statute. In California Sea Urchin Commission v. Combs a group of commercial fisherman claims that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit expanded the Chevron deference doctrine when it ruled that statutory silence could require deference. The Ninth Circuit held that U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) was entitled to Chevron deference because the 1986 law governing its sea otter relocation program was silent, rather than ambiguous, on the relevant legal question. The program aimed to reintroduce endangered sea otters to Southern California waters near existing fishing businesses. The law authorizing the relocation required the adoption of protections for those fisheries regarding the accidental harm of the endangered otters. FWS repealed those protections in 2012. The petitioners claim that FWS did not have the authority to terminate protections, which left commercial fishermen vulnerable to penalties in the event of harm to an otter. The Ninth Circuit held that the law was silent on whether or not FWS could terminate the program and applied Chevron deference to support the agency’s decision. A decision on whether or not the Court will take up this case could come as early as Monday. If the Court decides to hear the case, it could be added to this current term. Click here for more information about Chevron deference from Ballotpedia’s Administrative State Project→ It's clear, Americans are preparing to vote! We are honored that you have chosen Ballotpedia to be one of your trusted resources. You're in great company! Yesterday, our sample ballot lookup tool was used 63,964 times. A total of 566,731 people visited Ballotpedia. Readers shared our encyclopedic pages 817 times. Averaged out over the last 30 days, Ballotpedia has had more traffic than Ancestry.com. It would have taken 5,556 Mayflowers to transport yesterday’s Ballotpedia readers.